The Little Old Engine
The Little Old Engine is the 14th book in the Railway Series. It was written by the Rev. W. Awdry and illustrated by John T. Kenney. Stories Trucks! Sir Handel is shunting when he meets up with Gordon. Sir Handel tells Gordon that he doesn't like shunting, so Gordon advises him to pretend to be ill. The next morning, Sir Handel puts his 'avoid working with trucks today by pretending to be sick' plan into action, and Peter Sam and Rusty- a new diesel- are allocated Sir Handel's trucks. Unfortunatly, some trucks at the top of the incline mistake Peter Sam for Sir Handel- and break away! Poor Peter Sam is badly damaged as a result but, luckily, no one was hurt. When Sir Handel is given Peter Sam's work to do instead, all Sir Handel wanted to do at that moment was give Gordon a piece of his mind! Home at Last Peter Sam is back from the Works, and is delighted when he sees Skarloey. Peter Sam is pleased to have Skarloey back home and fills him in on recent happenings, including the arrivals of; Jane, Ada and Mabel- three coaches who don't have roofs - Cora, the guard's van, Gertrute and Millicent- 2 bogie wheel coaches- Rusty and finally, Duncan, a rude Scottish engine. Shortly, Skarloey hears that Duncan is stuck in a tunnel, so goes to the rescue and takes him home. Later, the Thin Controller warns Duncan that if he tries to 'rock and roll' again, then he will have a smaller cab and shorter funnel, so Duncan behaves for the rest of the evening. Rock and Roll Skarloey is impressed with the hard work Rusty and Mr Hugh have put in to fix the lines, as they are no longer bumpy. A worried Rusty tells Skarloey about the one stretch of line that is still in need of repairs, and voices his concerns that Duncan will do his 'rock and roll ' and his passengers will get injured. Duncan hears this, and calls Rusty a 'smelly diesel.' The next day, Duncan has to find his own coaches, as Rusty is still cross. As a result, Duncan is late and tells James abut Rusty. To sympathize, James tells Duncan of the time when he had 'supposedly' sent Diesel packing. Impressed, Duncan sets off, trying to think of a way to get Rusty sent away. Then disaster strikes- in the form of Duncan derailing at the dangerous area of line. Rusty unwillingly helps Duncan get back on the rails. That evening, Duncan apologises to Rusty, and the two become friends. Little Old Twins One day, some strange men are looking around the Skarloey Railway. Sir Handel and Peter Sam remember that the same thing had happened on their old railway, and the line was later sold, and the engines are miserable . However, when they find out they are going to be on television, they are excited, all except Sir Handel, who tries to get out of it by pretending to be ill again. But the Thin Controller has other ideas- he asks Sir Handel's crew to take him to pieces, so the television crew can see how an engine works. Skarloey takes Agnes, Beatrice, Jemima, Lucy and Ruth, Rusty has to show the television crew on how he and Mr Hugh repair the line, Duncan pulls a goods train- and Peter Sam is given the anrhydedd of pulling the train with the television crew on board. Later, Skarloey is filmed making a speech. But to the surprise of everyone watching, Skarloey mention his twin, Talyllyn, and adds that he met him whilst being repaired. Category:Railway Series Books